Residents across northeastern Ohio received a rude-or at least extremely unexpected-wake-up call this morning. According to theNational Weather Service(NWS), the loud boom experienced across the region around 9 a.m. EDT on March 17 was most likely the result of ameteor disintegratingas it sped through Earth’s atmosphere.
Whilemultiple videosrecorded as far away as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, show a bright light streaking across the sky, initial indicators suggested something completely different.Speaking with Cleveland.com, NWS meteorologist Brian Mitchell explained a satellite picture taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) flagged the visible flash traveling north towards Lake Erie as potential lightning. Given a lack of thunderstorms in the area, a cosmic visitor is more likely the culprit.
Although known as theGeostationary Lightning Mapper(GLM), NOAA’s satellite isn’t only used to document its namesake weather phenomenon. With the ability to snap 500 images of Earth every second, the GLM is instrumental in helping monitorhurricanes, climate events,wildfires, as well asmeteors. This allows meteorologists and emergency responders to track the trajectory, brightness, and speed of incoming space rocks at millisecond precision.
Meteors pass through Earth’s atmosphere every day and almost always burn up before reaching the surface-but this isn’talwaysthe case. Earlier this month, a chunk of meteor likelystruck a house in Germany, although no injuries were reported. One of the last major events occurred in 2013, when a roughlysix-story-wide meteorexploded approximately 15 miles above Russia. In that case, its resulting sonic boom and shockwave injured an estimated 1,600 people, mostly from issues like shattering windows.
The March 17 meteor, while startling, appears to have been much less severe. The NWS stated it didn’t expect any pieces to survive the final leg of its multimillion-year travel, and any residual pieces almost certainly splashed into Lake Erie.
Kaynak: Earthsky
